Lentil Soup Linsen Suppe Recipes

LINSENSUPPE (GERMAN LENTIL SOUP WITH FRANKFURTER SLICES)

Steps:

• Rinse lentils thoroughly under cold running water (brown lentils don't need to be soaked b4 cooking).
• Heat oil in a lrg pan & gently fry onion for 5 min till soft. Add leek, carrot, celery, bacon & bay leaves.
• Add lentils & water to the pan & slowly bring to a boil. Skim the surface & simmer (half-covered) for 45-50 min or till the lentils are soft.
• Remove piece of bacon, cut into sml cubes (trimming off any excess fat) & return bacon cubes to the pot.
• Add parsley + frankfurter slices & season w/salt & pepper to taste pref. Simmer gently for 2-3 min, remove bay leaves & serve garnished w/the extra parsley.
• PERS NOTE: As I entered this recipe, I found myself wondering how the simmer time of 45-50 min might be adapted to crockpot use. If 1 among you is more practiced in this art, I'd appreciate that info. :-).

LENTIL SOUP - LINSEN SUPPE

Steps:

• Pick over lentils and wash.
• Dice bacon, and render in large pot to accommodate all ingredients.
• Sautee onions, carrots, and celeriac or celery leaves about 5 minutes.
• Add stock on lentils.
• Bring to a full boil.
• Reduce heat and cook for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Can also be cooked in a Crockpot about 4-5 hours on medium, 6-8 hours on low.
• Add sausage or smoked ham cut into bite size pieces.
• Optional: Melt lard or margarine or butter and caramelize the coarsely chopped onion, individually add to lentils at the table.
• Vinegar can be added to personal taste at the table also.
• Sourdough bread with caraway seeds is a great accompaniment.

LINSEN SUPPE MIT WURST (GERMAN LENTIL SOUP WITH SAUSAGE)

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, sauté onions in butter until translucent.
• Rinse lentils, removing any grit. Place in the stockpot; add stock, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, nutmeg, black pepper and celery salt. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat and add ham hock or ham bone.
• Simmer for 2 hours. Add water as needed, I like it thick and rich so I add very little water.
• After two hours, in separate saucepan, combine veg oil and flour. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until browned, to make a roux.
• Once the roux is a light chocolate color, Temper the roux with a couple of ladle fulls of the soup fluid (try to leave out lentils). Add roux/soup mixture to soup, it will thicken slightly. Sometimes its nice to use a hand held blender(boat motor as Emeril would call it) and puree some of the soup. I generally give it a few pulses. (Just don't forget to remove the bay leaf!).
• Simmer for as long as you care to on low heat, the longer the better! Two hours at least for good flavor.
• When ready to serve; Remove the ham hock or ham bone. If you used a ham hock, you could break up the pieces of the meat and mix with the soup. Usually it has added all the flavor it can to the soup and the meat doesn't really add much in taste. So I don't do this. Add wurst and simmer 5 minutes more to heat through.
• Serve hot, on top of a bowl of spaetzle.
• Tastes even better the next day!

BAKED LENTIL SOUP (LINSENSUPPE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a 4-quart ovenproof casserole or saucepot (such as Le Creuset or cast iron) place water, lentils, carrots, celery, beef broth, tomato sauce, onion and garlic, bay leaves, black pepper and salt.
• Cover casserole.
• Bake until lentils are tender, about 2 hours. Remove bay leaves.
• Serve hot with a tossed salad and hot crusty bread.
• Yield: 10 cups.